


He Came for Salvation

by MicoolandVav



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, Pirate AU, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 19:32:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1196817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MicoolandVav/pseuds/MicoolandVav
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael Jones just wanted to go home; this particular venture had him on edge. Despite that deep gut feeling he had, which drove him to leave, he was drawn to the mysteries of the island. Something told this particular pirate that he would find something important on this island, and that the importance of that finding was far past any golden or silver coins he may find in his lifetime.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The voice sang on, and the merman opened his eyes again and swam around the ship, praying for a glimpse of the voice’s owner. If the owner were just as beautiful as the voice, surely Gavin Free would fall in love. He’d forsake his merfolk for this voice; he’d follow it to the edges of the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Came for Salvation

**Author's Note:**

> So this was a prompt from the lovely uhmogar on tumblr!
> 
> This takes place in a sort of Pirates of the Caribbean influenced universe, and the fountain of youth lore along with the mermaid lore somewhat follows those criteria. I have my own spins on some of them, though.
> 
> This wasn't supposed to be multi-chaptered, but it got a little bit out of hand!

The sun had set long ago and the stars twinkled in the sky, the moon moving at its leisurely pace. It was full that night, brightening the stars’ twinkle. It was as though they were communicating more actively on the night of a full moon than on any other night. The lavenders and oranges of the sky had turned to blacks and deep navies, and the crew left on the upper decks were scattered around the middle deck. The Quartermaster, settled peacefully on the boards of the forecastle, watched his crew. The musicians, who never seemed to sleep, were laughing loudly. Instruments in hand, one man would strum a chord, bring his hand up to tug at his dirtied beard, and listen to the next man strum. They created lovely, concordant sounds that filled the dark quiet with life. It bolstered the spirits of the tired men, the watchman for the night settled in his position. He kept a watchful eye, as the Quartermaster noted.  
The man hung his arms over the rail his legs were slotted through, and he glanced back to the sailing master, who was hunched over his terribly crafted maps. His blonde hair hung in a mess, shielding his eyes in cooperation with the man’s wire glasses.  
The Quartermaster turned his attention from the man, out to their surroundings. They were anchored a ways from shore, a mythical land that they’d hoped would contain great treasures for them. That’s what the stories and lore had told them, and the prospects seemed high. This particular Quartermaster was wary, as he’d heard of dangerous mythical creatures that lurked in the water surrounding the island. They were told to lurk in the rivers and lakes the island had to offer, guarding its treasures from strangers with dangerous hearts and misguided intents.  
So when the man studied the rocky shores, where the water caressed these large rocks, with the sandy beaches just out of reach of the seeking water, his regards were with deep suspicion. Michael Jones didn’t like to call himself a suspicious man, but when you sought after the mythical treasures of legend, a certain amount of cautious suspicion had to be adopted. His captain, a one Geoff Ramsey, thrived in chasing the mythical. The more outrageous the lore, the better, and their particular objective was the fountain of youth. Of course, being a crew whom was more mercenary than anything, they weren’t looking for the fountain of youth themselves.  
They’d been hired by the infamous Captain of the Roosterteeth, a legendary crew led by their Captain, Burnie Burns. He was a ruthless, cunning man, who was exceedingly intelligent enough to not attempt this mission on his own. However, while looking into the fountain, the Captain of this very ship - the Achievement Hunter - heard another legend. This legend spoke of untold riches found in the cave of the fountain, where many a pirate went to die, leaving behind their bones and their treasures in their fatal attempt at finding the fountain. These men died due to many reasons, but the most common was the evil intent of the dangerous merfolk who inhabited the waters of Whitecap Bay. They’d find the fountain, and head off to find the merfolk for their tear. Of course, few men ever returned from that endeavor.  
As they didn’t want to find the fountain for their own gain, the Achievement Hunter had bypassed Whitecap Bay in hopes of avoiding finding out whether or not the legend of the mermaids was true. This had, in turn, allowed them to come to a place where they were merely a half day’s march to the supposed location of the fountain.  
Michael Jones just wanted to go home, this particular venture had him on edge. Despite that deep gut feeling he had, which drove him to leave, he was drawn to the mysteries of the island. Something told this particular pirate that he would find something important on this island, and that the importance of that finding was far past any golden or silver coins he may find in his lifetime.  
The sounds of a familiar song pulled the man from his musings, and he smiled briefly as the music filled the quiet air. It accompanied the lapping sounds of the water caressing the ship quite well. Harmoniously, was how Michael would describe it. This was one of Michael’s favourite tunes that the musicians knew, and he began to sing along from where he was.  
‘If you take my heart, don’t leave the smallest part.’  
The men laughed as Michael joined in, and he could hear the watchman, a friend of his, join in. Michael liked to refer to their particular crew of pirates as a family. Although Captain Ramsey hated that at times, he’d once admitted to him that he felt much the same. And it was clear to Michael when he saw the way Geoff would look at Ryan and Jack in the quiet of the night, or in the early morning when he would greet his first mate and sailing master. The love was there, and despite the unforgiving sea and their crude career, they felt at home on their ship. Many of the crew felt the same way, and while they were a small crew for a small ship, they felt at home where they were.  
‘I’ve no need to live if you’re to come up gone, and as my life turns to a song, and if and when I treat you wrong, no I never want to hurt our family.’  
While Michael’s voice rang the loudest out over the ocean, the musicians and Ray – the watchman – sang along quietly. They were more murmured, absorbed in Michael’s voice.  
‘And I would give up everything, no this is not just about me, and I don’t know a plainer way to say it babe, and they may pay us off in fame, though that is not why we came, and I know well and good that won’t heal our hearts.’  
Michael found singing to be a reprieve, and he sang often and with love. It was an enjoyable pastime for him, and it kept him wrapped in a warm safety blanket when things just got too weird for him aboard the ship. As, it often got too weird when one was chasing supernatural beings or mythical treasures. Michael, like many other pirates, had grown up around songs and music. Though the curly-haired pirate could not play a lick to save his life, he could take pride in his singing voice at the very least. This could be evident in the peaceful expressions of the musicians, among them was Joel, who was the first mate of the Roosterteeth. He’d been sent along to make sure that the Achievement Hunter remained true to their mission. Of course, he’d probably volunteered. It was well known that he had an infatuation with Ray.  
‘We came for salvation, we came for family, we came for all that’s good that’s how we’ll walk away. We came to break the bad, we came to cheer the sad, we came to leave behind the world a better way.’  
-  
The lovely tone of the voice drew the merman from his home, the scales of his tail glowing with blue bioluminescence in the deep night. The light his scales provided acted as his guide, aiding his sight as he made his way out of the depths of the ocean. He’d never heard such a beautiful voice before, and as he silently broke the surface and the voice was no longer distorted from the water, the beauty hit him like a wave. The half-fish, half-man sighed in longing, treading water with his tail as he listened to the chorus of quiet voices singing along with the one, amazing voice. The instruments playing the tune were sublime, accompanying the voice, which the merman picked out as a male’s voice. The music was magical, and this particular merman knew magical when it was right in front of him.  
A dreamy sigh escaped his lips again as he gazed up at the ship, longing to see the source of the voice. He’d spent his life searching for a voice this delightful. The merman hummed in satisfaction, closing his eyes to allow the music to encase him in warmth.  
‘And I would give up everything, and if you were to come up clean, and see you shine so bright in a world of woe.’  
The voice sang on, and the merman opened his eyes again and swam around the ship, praying for a glimpse of the voice’s owner. If the owner were just as beautiful as the voice, surely Gavin Free would fall in love. He’d forsake his merfolk for this voice; he’d follow it to the edges of the world. Of course, he’d never been too fond of the cruelty of the merfolk. Their savage way of seducing sailors and dragging them to their watery graves; it had never appealed to Gavin the way it did to his fellow merfolk. He wanted love. He wanted adventure. He certainly wanted to belong to the person who sang this very song.  
‘And they may pay us off in fame, but that is not why we came, and if it compromises truth then we will go.’  
Gavin swam closer to the ship, utilizing his tail to lift himself, craning his neck to find the owner of the voice. When the man stood on the forecastle, moving to rest his arms over the rail as he sang, Gavin’s heart leapt. The face accompanying the voice was just as heaven-sent, if not more so. The curly-haired pirate sang on, and Gavin’s pale cheeks grew alight with the warmth coursing through his veins. He hummed in satisfaction, vowing never to leave this ship again. Its singing pirate was the one Gavin would love; with his flushed cheeks, freckles and hair the colour of autumn leaves.   
‘We came for salvation, we came for family, we came for all that’s good that’s how we’ll walk away, we came to break the bad, we came to cheer the sad, we came to leave behind the world a better way.’  
When the song came to a close, Gavin’s heart sunk. He silently implored the pirate to sing more, but the ship’s inhabitants appeared sated by this lone song. The lonely merman in the water, of course, was not, but he had no choice other than to sit idly by.  
The men began to talk, loudly enough that their voices carried out across the ocean’s surface, reaching Gavin’s ears easily.  
“What do you think will happen tomorrow?” One of the men asked the man who had just been singing. The curly-haired man smiled, running a hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. Gavin liked his smile. It seemed easy and all-encompassing. It seemed like it could just wrap you up like a hug.  
“The Captain wants to get going. So we’re setting out and we’ll be in and out by tomorrow. Captain says if all goes well, then we’ll be home within the week.” The pirate replied, leaving the forecastle, and approaching the man on the middle deck. Gavin watched quietly, taking in the way he moved. The man walked with an air of confidence, or maybe it was cockiness. He moved about like he knew he was great, and Gavin found that quite enticing. When the man rolled his white sleeves up, Gavin noticed the edges of what he’d once been told was a tattoo peeking out on his forearm. The colours made the merman smile, as they matched his tail – green, golden, and deep blue. Gavin sighed again, flicking his tail. The pirate seemed to notice the movement in the water.  
“Hey, Ray, you see that?” His curly haired pirate spoke, and it took Gavin a long moment to realize that the two were looking at him. The blonde merman panicked, lunging down underwater again. Unfortunately, this process flicked his tail out of the air, revealing the multi-coloured, glowing scales before he plunged underwater completely, out of sight of the two pirates.  
“Was that what I think it was, Michael?” The one called Ray replied, his voice reaching the ears of the merman as a distorted mumble due to the water. So that was the curly-haired pirate’s name. Gavin liked that almost as much as he liked his smile, which he liked nearly as much as he loved his voice.  
“It looked like a merman.” The other’s voice replied, and Gavin’s heart leapt. The wonder in his voice only told Gavin that maybe; the man wouldn’t want to harm him if they met. He wanted so badly to meet this man. Perhaps he’d have to follow them and find an optimal point to meet the man.


End file.
